1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specification abstracting-detailing system for use in a specification creation business of a system represented by a hierarchical structure and a logical relation in a hierarchy of the hierarchical structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a specification of a complex system is described by representing a logical relation of system structuring elements in a hierarchical fashion. For example, in analyzing a flow of data of client business on the basis of a data flow diagram and a business hierarchical diagram or in describing processes of a large-scaled program, a process design may be performed on the basis of a flowchart or a PAD diagram and a module hierarchical diagram.
A system for supporting the detailing of a program is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (kokai) No. 1-306,922, which involves supporting work for detailing a program in a hierarchical manner by providing an edit means for editing a graphic sign in a program structure diagram and detailing information corresponding to the graphic sign. This system can display a region for describing the detailing information for the graphic sign upon a request from a user and allow necessary information to be written in the region.
This system is arranged to detail the program in a hierarchical manner in the top-down order from an upper level to a lower level in designing a logic of the program.
Further, for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (kokai) No. 1-116,729 discloses a system for managing a multi-dimensional hierarchical structure among modules as a space model. This system can provide an editor capable of displaying and editing in a three-dimensional manner, a class hierarchy to be employed for detailing modules for each version, concealing information and orienting an object. This system relates the information on the information concealment or on the class hierarchy with a module detailed hierarchically in the top-down order from the upper level to the lower level in designing the logic of the program.
On the other hand, the fact in actual designing work is that information is not detailed reasonably and systematically in a top-down fashion from the uppermost hierarchy to the lowest hierarchy. For example, a structured analysis technique (T. DeMarco: Structured Analysis And System Specification, 1978, pp. 257-271, 1978, Prentice-Hall; translated by Takanashi And Kuroda, Nikkei-McGraw Hill, 1986, pp. 244-257) involves the procedures defining one hierarchy by enclosing a change region with a free curved line and dividing its detail in creating a future logical model at the time of completion of a new system from a current logical model describing current business. Further, in reviewing a boundary between manual work and automated work in the new system, the structured analysis technique likewise sets a boundary of automated work by using a free curved line in reviewing alternatives on the basis of cost analysis.
These methods indicate one example in which work for designing an actual system analysis is not conducted in the order from an upper level to a lower level. Further, no system capable of supporting such work mechanically is developed yet.
The procedure of work to be conducted by a designer in reviewing the specification of a system is arranged in such a manner that information on the specification of a middle-level hierarchy or of a lower-level hierarchy is first described as a memorandum so as to grasp a specific image for the specification of the system because an upper-level hierarchy is of an abstract type. In this case, the procedure further involves abstracting structuring elements of a hierarchy for creating a new hierarchy by grouping part of the specification information and detailing for replacement of an abstract hierarchy with a more specific description and, if needed, for example, by adding, deleting or correcting the structuring elements.
Repetition of trials and errors results in representation of a complex system in a top-down hierarchical structure and the course of creating the hierarchical structure is not executed whatsoever in a top-down fashion. Hence, the conventional techniques allows the specification to be used for the first time when the specification can be represented in a top-down fashion, and the specification cannot be used until it is represented in a definite way. Hence, the designer repeats trials and errors by writing various ideas on sheets of paper with a pencil or the like until then.
Further, the conventional techniques suffer from the disadvantage that progress and a quality of designing work depend heavily on an individual designer and they cannot be assessed systematically.